Shadows of Serendom
by Hero's Chanson
Summary: In the midst of a fever, Serenity wakes up in a foreign world with a sick king and an approaching, unnamed evil. It's a race against time for her and her companions, each with their own stake in the quest, as they traverse the lands in search of the Sorcerers - the only ones capable of stopping the threat. (Based loosely on "The Wizard of Oz.")
1. Part I Not in Domino Anymore: Chapter 1

Part I. Not in Domino Anymore

* * *

"What pretty lights," Serenity said to herself, or so she thought, "though the siren is dreadful." On cue, a wide throb rolled through her skull, making her stomach quiver. She eased away from her bedside window and lay back down — ever-so-slowly at the behest of her gut — and stared at the blurry ceiling. "It wasn't always that mosaic, you know," she said to no one in particular. Or perhaps to the white ceiling. Who could tell?

She heard her door open yards away from her bed but made no attempt to greet her visitor. 'They'll forgive my rudeness, surely,' she thought.

A man stood at the foot of her bed, though she couldn't say how she knew he was male.

'Maybe they've come to take me away,' she thought, and frantic delight seeped through her head, followed on its heels by more pain. 'Maybe they can fix me!'

And suddenly she was lighter than she was a moment ago and dangerously high off her bed. And suddenly she was heavy again and pressed firmly into a mattress. The instantaneous change and jolt of being put on a gurney rippled through her. With reflexes she doubted she'd had before this whole ordeal, Serenity leaned over the side of the stretcher and heaved up the only two meals she'd had in the past three days.

She wondered why she should bother with righting herself when gravity beckoned her to the floor. Unfortunately, two pairs of impatient hands caught her first. Black dots peppered her vision until black was all she saw, and Serenity was out cold.

* * *

Although _cold_ wasn't the proper term, now was it?

"103," the nurse said in what she probably assumed was a whisper. Her grave tone compensated for what the number alone lacked.

Serenity ignored her. Instead, she marveled at the return of her sense of hearing before all other senses. She waited patiently for the others to awake. 'I, for one, will be glad to rid myself of this whole darkness business.' _'_ But none of them came. Hearing was her only friend, and as the earnest voices of her worried mother and nurse faded into mumbles, she realized it, too, was fickle.

* * *

The hand on her burning forehead felt remarkably cool, and again Serenity wondered at the presence of one sense in the absence of the others. She could not hear the hand's owner, nor would her eyes open to see his or her face. So she willed her Psyche to lean into the touch — for she couldn't do so physically, ensnared in viral tendrils and all — and to spread the coolness to the rest of her body.

But too soon, the hand was being retracted. Feverish warmth swelled tenfold where the delicate fingers had been, as though waiting for the dam to break. Serenity panicked. She could not get any warmer than she already was or she'd melt; Grace had told her that herself!

Again, Serenity awaited the arousal of her other senses. Quickly growing impatient, she decided to awaken them herself. She attempted to clear her throat, but the sound was all wrong, all gurgled and barbaric. She tried again and decided it was close enough. She parted chapped lips and wheezed. Licking her lips, she tried again, this time emitting a low moan.

'Nearly there!' Serenity told herself. 'Keep at it, you'll be fine.'

And she did. Upon the third time, she said her first word: "Hot."

"Speak up," replied a muffled voice.

"I'm hot," Serenity gasped.

"Hot?" Serenity nodded weakly. "And no wonder!" The voice chuckled a little.

The owner of the voice shifted his weight — Serenity could now feel that he was quite close to her. As he moved, light filtered through her eyelids, quickly warming them and turning them orange.

Serenity squinted before attempting to open her eyes. She peeked under lashes and saw endless blue. 'Well,' she thought, 'it's an improvement from the black.' She lifted her lids higher and revealed to herself an expanse of cloudless sky. The sun was above her head, pouring warm light on her without blinding her.

"Miss?" the voice called from beside her.

Slowly, Serenity looked to her left and saw a young man with sharp brown hair and concern sketched on his face kneeling beside her.

Serenity mentally searched for her hands and found them loosely curled in grass. Come to think of it, grass was pricking her back and bare legs, too. She lifted her arms up in a gesture to beckon for help sitting up.

The young man obliged and tugged her left arm firmly but gently to pull her up.

"Easy now," he said.

Serenity put her right hand behind her to steady herself and waited for the impending dizzy and nausea spell to wash over her.

But it never came.

Her eyes widened, and she searched for any and all traces of the urge to purge but nearly laughed when she felt none. Similarly, she checked her head for warmth and felt nothing but skin. Indeed, her resident pain seemed evicted from her skull. It was a miracle.

Serenity tested her newfound health. She jumped to her feet and laughed heartily when she didn't immediately fall over. And when laughing didn't upset her stomach, she laughed more, testing various pitches and trying to find hers. It had been so long since she'd heard it that she had forgotten what it sounded like.

Meanwhile, the boy had had time enough to observe the formerly unconscious girl for some time. While her sudden fits of laughter had taken him quite by surprise, he liked the sound and was almost encouraged to do the same. And she had the brightest eyes that'd ever looked up at him and the reddest hair he'd ever felt and the strangest garb he'd ever seen. At any rate, he stood and smiled.

"You!" Serenity suddenly cried. "Did you heal me?" She didn't wait for an answer. Rather, she flung her arms around the boy's neck and laughed again.

"Actually — I-I…uh," the poor boy stammered. He eventually managed to pry the girl off him and attempted to finish his sentence. "I meant, _ahem_ , I didn't heal you. I found you lying by the road." He nodded to the dirt path behind him. "I feared you were dead, but you're not. Though you were quite warm from lying in the sun for so long."

Serenity just stared at him with a blank look. Then, meaning struck her, and she blinked and looked around her. At every indication that she was indeed outside, her smile retracted more and more until she was pouting.

"I knew it was too good to be true," she said. "I'm not better, I'm just dreaming." She sighed. "I haven't been outside for real in _ages_."

The boy quirked an eyebrow. "But you _are_ outside. In the middle of nowhere, no less."

"Begone," Serenity said with a hmph. "I have no intention of listening to your dream talk. I'll just sit here and wait to wake up, thank you very much." And with that, she plopped down and crossed her arms, defiantly looking away.

The boy shifted from foot to foot, unsure what to do with himself. The girl merely sat there in silence, convinced that something would change if she did. Though she was extremely outlandish, he couldn't help but feel guilty at the thought of leaving her alone. He glanced up at the horizon: dark was approaching.

Serenity sighed again. "Nothing happened." She looked up at the boy with wide eyes. "Where am I?"

"The Betwixt," he answered. "You know, between the kingdom and the savage lands?"

"Kingdom?" Serenity's ears perked up. Dream or not, she had never seen a king before, let alone a kingdom. Maybe if she played nice with this boy, he would take her.

The boy nodded. "It's where the Black Magician lives." He hesitated. "Y-you're not from around here, are you?"

Serenity shook her head. "Not that I know." She thought for a moment. "I guess I'm lost."

"Well, come on, then," he said, "it's getting late and the king'll be expecting me."

Serenity couldn't help but grin. "You work for the king?"

The boy smiled sheepishly. "Not exactly. I'm his student, one of the Black Acolytes."

"What does he teach you?"

"Magic. Like this." The boy's eyebrows furrowed together in concentration as he focused on the ground. He slowly lifted his hand, and a white flower grew and bloomed in sync with his movements. "There," he said triumphantly. However, his flower didn't stop. It grew until it was up to his hip and as thick as his leg. Then, without warning, it bent in on itself and blackened. The white petals quickly turned brown and fell off, while the stem shriveled and curled. Soon, the flower was no more than mulch and blew away in the wind.

Serenity clapped a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing at the boy's defeated expression, but a snicker escaped. "I'm sorry, Mr. Acolyte sir!" she said, laughing and waving her hands around. "I know I shouldn't laugh."

The boy sighed. "It's okay." He smiled. "And please, call me Tristan."

Serenity extended her hand. "Serenity," she said. "Pleased to meet you."

Tristan looked at her hand. "What're you doing?"

"Shaking hands?"

He looked at first her hands, then his. "No you're not."

Serenity blushed, wishing for the first time that it was from fever and not embarrassment. She supposed they didn't shake hands in this kingdom. (And if this were truly her dream, then they should have.) What, then, was she supposed to do? She waited for Tristan to make a move, but he merely watched her.

After a while, he just shook his head. "You really aren't from around here."

He gestured for Serenity to follow him, and together they walked down the path. They talked the whole way, Tristan about the magician king and the Acolytes and his classes, Serenity about our world and school and the fever that sent her to the Betwixt. Neither minded how the darkness swallowed the sky.


	2. Part I Not in Domino Anymore: Chapter 2

The kingdom was far grander than anything Serenity could have imagined.

As they approached, she could see little hovels and cobbled streets lace through the sprawling town and people milling about in between, some accompanied by the strangest animals she'd ever seen. On the hills were much larger, white houses, and she could barely make out a few women in long, flowing gowns fanning themselves as they left one of them. In the distance, Serenity saw a three-towered grey castle reach up to the clouds above and watch dutifully over the town. So entranced was she by the city that she didn't notice Tristan stop before a turret. Tristan tugged gently on her arm to pull her back.

"Hey, what're you —?"

"Hush," Tristan cut her off. He pointed upwards, toward the guard at the turret.

"Who goes there?" the guard shouted down to them. He took up what Tristan knew to be a defensive stance in case they answered wrong.

"A humble servant and follower," Tristan called back, making an odd gesture with his hand. "Oh, and a guest."

"All guests must be pre-approved by his Majesty or his council." The guard narrowed his eyes at Serenity, who ducked behind Tristan.

"She was lost, and night was approaching," Tristan insisted.

The guard grumbled but lowered his arms. "You may pass," he said.

Tristan nodded curtly and, taking Serenity by the wrist, led them to the town.

"I'm glad he let us through," Serenity said with a sigh. "What would he have done to me otherwise?"

Tristan glanced at her. "Probably restrain you and have you hauled off to a dungeon to await your trial where they'll decide whether you'll be put to death or to servitude."

"That's awful!" Serenity shuddered. "And the king is okay with this?"

"He's the one who ordered it." Before Serenity could remark how terrible that was, Tristan rushed on. "But it wasn't always like that! He only started detaining strangers because the other Sorcerers told him to."

"Other... _Sorcerers_?" Serenity asked.

"Yeah," Tristan replied. "You must've heard of them. I mean, you have to belong to one of them. Unless you live in the savage lands." He gave Serenity a once-over. "Which you don't look like you do."

"I don't belong to anyone!" Serenity said, affronted at the idea of being owned. "And I'm certainly no savage." She took her wrist back and crossed her arms in front of her.

Tristan sighed quietly. How easily offended this girl was! And yet…there was something about her that was so refreshing and novel. Something in her eyes told him she was different from all the other girls his age, and definitely more special. Though he couldn't possibly put his finger on how so.

"Look," he said, pointing to a long stone building some feet away. "That's where we're headed."

"What is it?" Serenity asked, giving up on making sense of the odd looped characters on the sign.

"The tram station," he said with a grin. "We're the only domain that has one. People from all over visit just to ride it."

Serenity nodded but couldn't think of why riding public transportation would be anything special. She did it all the time at home. Nonetheless, she followed Tristan into the overflowing station. When people saw him, they parted to let them through, some looking fearful, but most staring reverently. Tristan didn't seem to notice and merely kept walking toward the ticket booth.

"Two for the castle, please," he said to the guy behind the glass.

The guy didn't look up. "I'm sure," he said sarcastically. "I'll just be needin' to see your papers."

"Pity," Tristan said casually. "Must've left them in my other robes."

At this, the ticketmaster looked up, perhaps to scold his customer. However, when he saw who — or, better yet, _what_ — Tristan was, his eyes widened.

"I b-beg your p-pardon, sir," the guy said. He rubbed his hands together nervously. "Two for the castle, you say?" He glanced down at the rolls of parchment before him. "You're in luck! One leaves in ten minutes." He took two forms and stamped them before sliding them through the window.

Tristan read them over, nodded, and pushed a few bills back through. "Keep the change."

As they walked toward the tram cables, Serenity glanced back at the people, who still stared at them. "Why are they all so afraid of you?" she asked.

"Hm?" He glanced back, too. "Oh, they're not afraid, _per se_ ," he said. "They just recognize an Acolyte when they see one. Since we train with the Black Magician, they think we're royal and powerful, too." He chuckled. "It has its benefits."

Serenity smirked. "Clearly."

The tram stood waiting for passengers at the gate. There weren't many boarding, so Tristan and Serenity had no problem finding two comfortable seats facing each other. The few riders who did board all wore fancy clothes similar to the gowns Serenity had seen earlier. They were rich and vibrant in color but didn't look at all comfortable. A man a few seats down kept readjusting the seams of his stockings, while the woman behind him couldn't seem to decide whether she wanted her sleeves on or off her shoulders.

Serenity exchanged a glance with Tristan, who she was sure saw the same display, and giggled.

"I very much prefer the simple Acolyte cloak," he said with a laugh.

When the car was about halfway full, a bell rang and the doors closed. The tram jerked forward and climbed out of the gate. Tristan could safely assume that Serenity had never been in a tram before, what with the way her eyes grew as she stared out the window. She ogled the shrinking figures as the tram got higher above the commoners and closer to the hills.

"That fountain is gorgeous!" she breathed, briefly fogging the glass she had her nose pressed to. Tristan looked at the porcelain sprites posed mid-cartwheel in the cascading water. He supposed it was gorgeous; then again, he was never one for art.

The tram stopped at a platform beside a row of dark green hedges that were spotted with large white flowers. Serenity smiled at them as the wind set them asway but gasped when she saw each flower quiver and glow. Suddenly, the flowers shot out of the bushes and twirled, revealing little fairies instead of stems. They flapped the petals, their wings, and flew upward, streaking the indigo sky white.

Serenity was brought of her reverie by the tram's lurch forward again. She followed the sight with her eyes as long as she could before meeting Tristan's. She smiled. Now she understood why people trekked all the way to the kingdom for the tram.

The car climbed through tier after tier, each more magnificent than the last. Serenity saw rainbow fish fly in the air, handsome children playing the strangest instruments she ever heard, and even waterfalls that flowed upwards.

When they departed from their final tier, Serenity eased back into her seat. "I can't imagine what the palace must look like after seeing all that."

"Oh trust me," Tristan replied, "you'll love it."

Soon (but not soon enough for Serenity's tastes), the pair stood before an impossibly long wrought iron fence. The sharply sloped gate opened automatically as they approached, though Serenity couldn't tell if that were meant to be comforting or haunting. Nonetheless, they stepped onto the royal grounds.

And Tristan was right. Serenity looked around her in awe at the overgrown hedges and trees and needle-point lawns. Wildlife scurried and flew uninhibited throughout, and large colorful orbs floated off the trees and toward the castle at regular intervals.

They passed under an archway and were met with a fountain lined with dots of light. A blond man dressed in similar robes as Tristan stood facing it with his back to them. When he heard their footsteps, he turned with a grin.

"Tristan," he said, throwing his hands up excitedly, "you're back!" They grasped arms and thumped each other on the back. Then the new boy looked over to Serenity. "And you brought your girlfriend."

Tristan blushed and opened his mouth to say something, but Serenity cut across him.

"I'm _not_ his girlfriend," she said sternly. "We barely know each other." She crossed her arms and glared slightly at the other boy.

The boy blinked before laughing raucously. "She's fiesty. I like her!"

Tristan sighed. "Serenity, this is my best friend Joey. Joey, this is my new friend Serenity."

"Charmed," Joey said, nodding his head slightly.

"As am I," Serenity replied, repeating his gesture hesitantly. She breathed a silent sigh of relief when neither boy laugh at her _faux pas_.

"So," Joey said, his tone losing all the mirth from earlier. "How was your forage?"

Tristan sighed. "Not good. Couldn't find anything we don't have already. Besides her, of course. And I don't think she's much help. No offense," he added quickly.

Joey nodded. "He's not gonna like this."

"Tell me about it. Dibs on not telling him!"

Joey groaned. "I always have to do it. Fine, but I get to introduce Serenity."

"Deal."

Serenity listened intently to the conversation but still couldn't follow it. However, she didn't feel it proper to interrupt and ask for explanations. This must be official court business, after all, something she was lucky enough to be privy to.

"Let's go, then," Joey said with a smile. "He's waiting for us." He winked to Serenity and turned to lead the pair inside.

The foyer was grand, but more bare than Serenity would have assumed it to be. Indeed, the only striking details about it were its plush carpet, neatly arranged portraits of people and creatures alike, and ornate brass lanterns. The boys led Serenity up a pair of steps and through an archway opening up into a similarly furnished throne room.

Serenity was a bit disappointed to see the throne — and the shorter seats positioned in a semicircle around it, for that matter — vacated. She didn't spend much time wondering where the king could have been, for a short old man burst through a hidden door and hobbled over quickly to the boys.

"Any news?" he called as he approached.

The boys exchanged a glance. "We're sorry, Solomon," Joey began. "The trip was a waste."

The old man — Solomon, apparently — sighed. "His Majesty is running out of options."

Joey cleared his throat, and Solomon looked up. "We did find something worth mentioning." He turned to face Serenity, and Solomon's eyes followed, widening when he saw the girl's face.

Serenity, who didn't like being compared to a _thing_ again, suppressed the urge to stick out her tongue at Joey and merely smiled politely at the man.

"An _Otherworlder_ ," he said softly. "I never thought I'd see the day." He stroked his chin. "Maybe…maybe you're what we've been searching for all along."

Serenity laughed nervously. "I think you're mistaken, sir. See, I was caught up in my fever and started hallucinating again and somehow ended up here."

Solomon quirked an eyebrow. "Hallucinating?" Serenity nodded. "Tell me, when did the fever dreams begin?"

"Well if today is still today, then three days ago."

"Three!"

"What is it?" Joey asked. "What's so special about that?"

"His Majesty took ill three days ago," Solomon answered gravely.

"Coincidence?" Tristan said.

Solomon shook his head. "No such thing." He turned again to Serenity. "Sometimes...when two beings get too close in a fever dream, one _infects_ the other. Most of the time, it is an accident and wears off soon. But this is the first time an Otherworlder has infected one of us — and a Sorcerer, no less! And by the looks of it, you're completely healed while his Liege suffers still..." He began stroking his chin.

Serenity's brows drew together. "I'm confused. What're you saying?"

"I'm saying that you passed your illness on to the king."


	3. Part I Not in Domino Anymore: Chapter 3

Serenity's knees trembled something terrible. "I — what?" She had heard the elder perfectly (he was standing quite close enough), but she was loath to think of the punishment she'd receive for poisoning, potentially _killing_ , the king, especially if strangers could end up dead just for trespassing.

No, Serenity needed no clarification, but it certainly bought her time. She really didn't like the earnest look in Solomon's eyes or the curious glances the boys sent her. She took a fraction of a step backwards, away from robed men she was sure would kill her.

Solomon sighed. "Where are my manners?" His frown dissolved into a playful little smile. "Welcome to Chatenoire. I'm sure you must be hungry. Follow me."

And with a wave, Serenity's anxiety evaporated, leaving a telltale emptiness in its stead. She followed Solomon, and the boys followed her, through an archway adjacent to the throne room. At the end of the corridor was a spiral staircase, which they descended into a large mess hall. The tables were already filled with teens dressed in robes similar to Tristan's and Joey's. They were all eating from large serving platters and chatting excitedly. Those who noticed the group's entrance nodded reverently to Solomon before returning to their companions. Serenity felt like she was back in school, and she smiled.

Solomon led them to an empty table in the back of the room and beckoned for them all to sit. Immediately, a man and a woman rounded the corner to set two platters on the table. They bowed to the elder and left as suddenly as they came.

The group fell into a forced silence, each focused on his plate as though it would disappear. Serenity kept busy by naming the colorful foods she saw. The blue game bird would be Dreams, just so she could say things like Dreams fly and she was eating Dreams — not to mention the meat was so tender, so _succulent_ , with flavors she could only dream of — and the red tangy sauce would be Carmine Surprise for its spicy after taste. Or maybe the whole ensemble would just be Dreams a la Carmine. And those soft, salty white rolls would be Clouds —

"I can't just sit here," Joey declared at last, all but slamming his fork down. "While we eat, Yug — I mean, _His Majesty_ — gets weaker. There's gotta be something we can do."

Solomon closed his eyes and sighed. "It is beyond our power," he said. "We must be patient."

Joey fell to mumbling, but Tristan spoke up. "But, sir," he said like an insistent child to his father, "don't you think it's strange that you send me out to find herbs and I find an _Otherworlder_ instead?"

"I do, but —"

"And you said yourself that there's no such thing as coincidence. Which means she's gotta be here for a reason."

"Everyone's here for a reason," Serenity piped up, more out of the desire to contribute than anything.

Solomon thought hard before speaking. "I will admit," he began carefully, "that I was hasty earlier." He looked at Serenity. "We can't be sure that you really did give His Liege anything."

"But he hallucinates, just like I did," she replied. "What other symptoms does he have?" (She was really proud of that word, symptoms. It made her sound professional and grown-up. She tried not to giggle at the thought; this was serious.)

"He gets chills, especially in the night."

Serenity almost shuddered just thinking of the unbearably cold nights that no thickness of blankets could fix.

"When he's not cold, he complains about numbness."

She never fully had control of all her senses at once, not like she used to. And unless she concentrated really hard, she could end up forgetting about an entire limb. It made walking too bothersome to attempt for even a little while.

"And his headaches come and go."

Serenity snorted. That sure wouldn't last long. Oh, sure, the headaches come and go, lulling you into a false sense of security by almost promising to be temporary. But, little by little, they get longer, duller, tighter, until they melt into one giant constant throb.

"I take it you went through a similar experience?" Solomon asked.

"The same, actually." She felt immensely relieved that those days were behind her, or at least beside her until she woke up.

For when she woke up, the headaches would crush her, and the chills would set in, and the hallucinations would start over. She would lapse in and out of consciousness until her fever finally broke…whenever that day came.

Serenity didn't want to return to that. It made her feel helpless and icky. And then it hit her that the magician king was probably thinking the same thing. Her relief turned into something stickier. It made tears prick at her eyes. Someone else was suffering because of her. The solemn faces of her new friends — it was all her fault.

"There's gotta be a way," she said softly.

"Like I said," Solomon replied, "it's beyond our power."

Serenity looked him in the eye. "Then whose power does it lie in?"

The old man leaned back with a smirk. "I underestimated you." He spared the boys a glance before returning his attention to the Otherworlder who was more and more starting to intrigue him. "The journey will be perilous," he said at last, "should you choose to take it. You would traverse each corner of the land and meet each Sorcerer in order."

Tristan tensed. "Meet the Sorcerers? Alone? Would they even see her?"

"Actually, the order matters little," Solomon continued, as though uninterrupted, "so long as you gather their items in one place. They will know what to do after that, and your duty to the king will be fulfilled." He nodded and returned to his food.

Serenity stared at Solomon a few moments longer before turning her gaze down to her food. She bit her thumb lightly in contemplation. What was she to do? She hardly knew this land, whether it was a product of her feverish imagination or not, but she owed the king, didn't she?

Meanwhile, Tristan and Joey exchanged confused looks and shrugs. They ate and waited for the elder or the girl to break the hush. When neither did, Joey spoke up.

"You know," he said to Tristan in a stage whisper, "I'll bet the king will be wanting to see who his soon-to-be rescuer is."

Tristan grinned. "Oh man, you're right. Besides, you can't go on a quest without the king's seal first, right?"

Solomon practically threw his fork down. "What are you two going on about?" When the boys opened their mouths to say something, he cut them off. "Never mind, I already know."

Joey's eyes lit up. "So?"

"So what?"

"You'll take her to him?" Tristan elaborated. Serenity peeked up at Solomon, hoping he'd consent.

"Out of the question!" He shook his head vehemently.

"Aww, come on," Tristan moped.

"I bet some company would do him good," Joey persisted. "Besides, he's probably dying of boredom."

"He's barely lucid half the time, I doubt he's —!"

"Please!" both boys begged.

Solomon narrowed his eyes at them for a few long moments. At last, he sighed. "Fine. But," he added quickly, "for only five minutes. And you are not to disturb him."

Serenity didn't exactly know how she was expected to visit the magician king without disturbing him, but before she could ask, she was whisked away by the others back into the throne room.

The group walked softly up to the door Solomon had come out of earlier, padding footsteps echoing in the stillness.

"Remember," Solomon whispered, bracing his hands on the door, "five minutes." He hesitated before pushing the door open.

The door opened into a living room lined with oddly shaped sofas, all of them either purple or golden yellow. A soft breeze played with the sheer yellow curtains in the windows on either side of the room. A dark brown, almost black coffee table rested in the center, covered in water stain rings and half open scrolls. A spiral staircase stood off in a corner.

On the longest sofa, furthest from the door, lay a small figure dozing. A saucer with a half-eaten roll rested on his stomach, falling and rising with his breaths. Dangling over the side of the couch was a golden inverted pyramid that the boy wore around his neck. It was an odd fashion choice, to be sure, but Serenity tried not to stare. A purple cloth covered his eyes, forehead, and part of his hairline.

"What is his Majesty doing in the parlor?" Joey whispered harshly to Solomon.

"He refused to lie down in his bed," Solomon whispered back. "He insisted he get some work done. It was useless arguing with him, so I cast a sleeping charm on him where he sat."

The boys gaped. "B-but it's forbidden to use magic against the king!" Tristan spluttered.

Solomon crossed his arms. "I did what was best for him. And he knows that." He walked over to the sleeping form and bent down so they were eye level. He removed the cloth and snapped his fingers.

Immediately, large purple eyes opened. The boy recoiled from Solomon and looked as though he would sit bolt upright, but Solomon placed a firm hand on his shoulder to still him. Once he could read recognition in the boy's eyes, Solomon let go.

"Oh," he said timidly, "it's you." He sighed and eased back down. "It's a good thing you pulled me out of the tub. They wanted to stab me with — oh. Hello."

He waved to the teens by the door.

"Your Majesty," the boys said in unison with their heads bowed. Serenity quickly did the same.

"Solomon, look!" the king cried, pointing at Serenity. "It's a Muse. Devonne promised me one, and here she is." He beckoned Serenity closer. Tentatively, the girl complied.

"Muse," he said regally — or, as regally as he could lying down with a plate of half-finished food on his stomach — "won't you sing to me?" He turned to Solomon. "That's how Devonne said to address my Muse."

"Actually, sire," Solomon said, clearing his throat, "this young lady has business with you. Why don't you sit up — _there's_ a good lad — and listen to what she says?"

Serenity watched with awe as the magician king sat up. As he did so, his wild, tricolored hair spiked up and cascaded down his shoulders. The sunlight danced in his blond hair, but hid from the black and purple. He truly did look like a king.

And yet, he looked more fragile than Serenity would have imagined. His cheeks were flushed with telltale signs of fever, his body was slight, and he shivered uncontrollably.

"I'm listening," the king said moodily.

"Y-your Majesty," Serenity began shyly. She opened her mouth, but didn't know how to continue.

"Your Liege," Joey said, "Serenity here is an Otherworlder. She came to make you better, but she needs —"

"Better?" he asked. Serenity nodded fervently. "What does 'better' feel like?" He leaned back into the sofa. "I don't remember."

Serenity knelt down before the king and looked earnestly into his eyes. "Better feels like only one voice in your head."

His Majesty was silent for a long while, regarding Serenity as though he had seen her somewhere before. In a dream now forgotten, perhaps. But it was not like Devonne to lie; why would she now? Was this girl, this Otherworlder, not the Muse he was promised? He had half a mind to return to that desert and tell the Jinn what-for, just as soon as he found the portal and – oh, _Gods_. He was doing it again. He closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to clear it of all the fuzzy, superfluous, and utterly ridiculous thoughts. It proved harder than he realized. He opened his eyes and looked at Serenity again.

"Okay," he said simply. In what would probably be his last lucid action in a while, he thought ruefully, he took his ring off of his finger and gave it to Serenity.

Tentatively the girl took it. She gave the king a meaningful look and stood up.

"Tristan, draw up the documents," Solomon said. "Joey, see if you can get his Liege to lie down in his chambers. And I'll take that," he said, taking the ring out of Serenity's hands. Armed with their duties, the men hurried off, leaving Serenity standing in the middle of the room. She shifted her weight awkwardly from foot to foot, looking around for something to occupy her while she waited.

She decided to peruse the documents on the table, not letting the fact that they may have been classified deter her. She took in the strange writing, admiring the fancy loops and curls that filled each page. After a while, she started to pick up the cadences of the language; she knew when a question was posed, an exclamation made, or a statistic demonstrated. She could not describe the process by which this occurred, but began reading with more vigor, hoping to completely understand it by the time one of her companions returned.

"Excuse me," Solomon's voice rang out, stern and clear. Serenity thrust the title deed she had been inspecting back on the table in her surprise and looked up at Solomon. If what she had been doing were wrong, he did not show it on his face. Instead, he held out a rolled up piece of paper, tied with a purple tassel, to her. She stood and took it just as Tristan and Joey re-entered the room.

"Now," Tristan said with relief, "it is done." He smiled.

Joey shook his head. "No; it's only just begun."


End file.
